Not Giving Up, Just Giving In
by littlestrick
Summary: Cedric finally finds peace in a life centered around his solitude. He has nothing to do with Enchancia and couldn't be happier for it. Could anything be worth surrendering his hard-sought isolation and serenity? Adult, consensual Cedfia.
1. Chapter 1

Life without recognition turned out to be a bigger sigh of relief than Cedric could have predicted. Growing up in the overlapping shadows of his father, his sister, and his liege-lord had trapped him in a darkness he never thought to crawl out of. It had been his own empty grasping at power that finally gave him the excuse he needed to escape. Taking tangible steps to overthrowing Enchancia had been a desperate plea for attention that even he hadn't thought himself capable of. The failed attempt and a night in the dungeons sobered him and he slowly faded out from the kingdom, quietly finding a suitable replacement and eventually leaving in the night, alone.

Only one letter had ever found him. Still traveling at that time, the innkeeper of that evening handed it to him upon his request for room and board for the night. Cedric recognized the handwriting immediately and didn't bother to mutter the curse that crossed his mind. In his room, he placed it reverently on the only piece of furniture inside, the bed, and paced. Of course Sofia, with her animal connections, would have been able to find him. He had packed away his sorcerer's robes in favor of the trousers, shirt, and vest he usually wore and added a common man's black overcoat. He took the time to glamour his unusual hair each morning into one solid color. With just these two changes, he had found that he easily blended into any crowd, not that he had ever stood out for good reasons before. But animals would be unphased by his light disguise, tracking him by scent, of course.

He scoffed at the envelope, picked it up and shoved it haphazardly into interior pocket of his overcoat before removing the coat and laying it across the foot of the bed. Cedric didn't owe anything to the kingdom. He had left without farewells but they weren't his family; farewells wouldn't be required. They would want for nothing that his replacement couldn't provide, and she would do so without causing any embarrassing scenes. It's exactly what the kingdom had wanted since his father retired. How ironic that he should be the one to finally fulfill that desire by leaving.

Cedric slept poorly. As he traveled the next day, mundanely so as to not accidentally garner unwanted attention, the letter pressed against his chest from the pocket inside his coat. Caught in a daydream in the back of a meandering wagon, he could almost feel Sofia's hand instead of her letter pressed against him instead. The girl was too forward and just that: a girl. Ten years his junior, she was on the cusp of becoming a young woman instead of a girl as he finally made his retreat. She didn't understand proper boundaries. Her commoner upbringing constantly had her violating the unforgiving distance required of a relationship between a Royal and, well, everyone else.

As inappropriate as it could be, her presence had often been a balm against the trials of his Royal Sorcerer requirements that Cedric had come to resent. Sofia, after all, was the only reason why he hadn't been able to fully execute the evil scheme of another sorcerer and. Immediately after, the only reason why he hadn't been left in the dungeons to rot with only Wormwood, of all creatures, for company. He and the bird had a parting of ways shortly after as Cedric acclimated to a lack of evil scheming and Wormwood sought a master more truly diabolical. The quiet that settled over his tower never lasted long with Sofia a frequent, and only, visitor.

Perhaps he did owe her _something_.

Cedric reached for the letter and stopped. Not here. Reading something from Sofia, likely the last thing he would ever hear from her, required something more than an uneven dirt road somewhere in the middle of the seven kingdoms.

Another week of traveling saw Cedric to his final destination. Kona Laui Island had a small population of locals, only occasionally hosting off-the-map sorts of tourists. It was the greatest opposite of his drafty tower in the Enchancia castle that he could think of, which would hopefully mark it as a less-than-predictable location for his escape. He wanted, more than anything, for the opportunity to be nothing but his own man and serve no master but his own desire. Here, it looked like that might be possible.

Boat gone, shirt sleeves rolled up against the heat, overcoat and magically-enlarged-interior bag in hand, Cedric breathed in through the thick humidity and turned to look up at his future residence. Barely shrouded from view and sure to boast a spectacular ocean panorama, it looked to be in good condition, as promised by his now-landlord.

The sky broke without warning and Cedric protectively clutched his coat to his chest as he quickly made his way up the path from the dock. The letter, still unopened, was inside. He fished out the key from his bag and entered the house, not registering a single detail as he reached into the interior of his coat and pulled out the letter, dropping his belongings carelessly around him. Light flooded the room from windows, somewhere, despite the falling rain. Procrastination would no longer be allowed. He was here. It was time. He broke her Royal seal, done in predictably purple wax, and unfolded the letter.

Cedric read it three times before pressing himself into a nearby wall and letting the hand holding the letter fall to the side. He didn't bother masking his loss of the Princess's constant sunniness in his life. If things went the way he had planned them, she would never brighten his doorway again. She was a part of his past and not to be a part of his future, his reinvention of himself as his own man.

"You'll always be sensational to me, no matter how far away you go. Your friend, Sofia."

He said the words aloud once, allowing himself a fond, sad smile before rubbing the letter between his hands and, with a touch of magic, crumbling it away into dust.

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A/N

Well hellooooo there. This is cannon through season 4 episode 1 because I finally saw it and DIED of joy. So much great material to work with for Cedfia.

I know you'd like to see an update to Give Me Your Riches and I PROMISE that it's coming. My beta has been very, very busy and thus very, very delayed.

But I'm not beta-ing this one! And my beta is responsible for basically all of my good grammar, so please read for content on this story and forgive me my amateur mistakes.

This'll run 3 chapters. Maybe 4. Hopefully done quickly. Read and respond, if you please!


	2. Chapter 2

The temperature of the ocean exceeded the temperature of the air. Cedric noticed the change with his toes wiggling in the sand during the twilight hour of the day where true colors weren't yet saturated through with sunlight. Lightweight pants typical of the islanders were rolled up to his knees but still damp from the ever-shifting water. His linen shirt, the first two buttons casually left open, even bore signs of splashes from unpredictable waves. He was harvesting sea snails that clung to the rocks on the shore during the morning low tide, but would be largely consumed by sea birds during the afternoon low tide. He had been here every other morning for the better part of eight years and had an impressive personal apothecary to show for it.

Upon arrival, Cedric was relieved to find the island wasn't backwards, at least not in ways that mattered to him. Being relatively isolated and surrounded by water left the culture to flourish on its own. Technology was slim but daily life was richer for it. Magic was...earthier here. It was a part of everyday life with every inhabitant a participant on some level. Wands and spells were absent, replaced with staves and chanting. Every goodwife had a remedial potion brewing beside a pot of stew for dinner composed of the scraps of fish and vegetables leftover from the night before. Cedric and his considerable potion-making skill had been folded into the community immediately after it was his brew that brought a cow, a rare creature to the islanders, back from the brink of death. He hadn't needed to cook himself a single meal since.

Island life had been good to him. The furrowed lines of concentration across his forehead had lessened, replaced by laughing crinkles around his eyes and skin tanned as dark as his fair complexion allowed. He no longer bothered to hide his unique hair coloring, keeping it short and out of his eyes while he let facial hair stubble across his cheeks and chin. It wasn't from laziness. It was an opportunity to do as he wanted and now that was an opportunity he would never surrender. His facial hair was plenty to keep his mother tsking judgmentally as only a mother can when they corresponded via portrait. He and his father didn't speak. Giving up the lineage of Enchancia Royal Sorcerer was one hit too far below the belt for Goodwin to forgive. But his disappointment was a burden Cedric could bear to carry in trade for the island that had returned so much of his vitality.

The warmer weather meant the arrival of tourists and that was reason enough for Cedric to venture out of his bungalow to the shoreline only in the early morning and down to the village only during the heat of the day. The majority of the visitors would sleep or sun during those hours so Cedric was relatively safe to meander about his day without uncalled for interruption. He was the only non-islander in the village which inevitably caught the attention of vacationers. Keeping to a strict non-romance policy amongst the locals, this sort of flighty attention had it's place here and there over the years. But Cedric generally enjoyed his quiet, mostly celibate life chorused by the constant, calming sounds of the surf.

As the sun began to rise, so did Cedric. He left the shoreline with a basket cram-jam full of bits and baubles for his usage. Upon returning home, he went about his usual routine, magicing the kettle to life to brew his morning cup of caffe as he put his findings away for later usage. He checked on a myriad of mid-process potions, some for village usage, others his own experiments. Satisfied, he took his still-steaming mug to the wall of windows and kicked back into a well-loved armchair, a dog-eared paperback novel propped open in his free hand between long, calloused fingers.

Everything was exactly as it should have been, exactly as it had been since he found his routine after his arrival to Kona Laui. And yet he couldn't absorb a word of his book, reading the same paragraph several times over before finally continuing on to the next. Caffe long finished, he tapped the rim of the mug in an impatient, mindless rhythm. The sense of unknown anticipation had nearly overwhelmed him when there was a small commotion at the bottom of the path to his home. He couldn't see the path from the windows that faced the ocean, but he did hear the tail end of a conversation.

"Are you sure you'll be alright alone?"

"I'll be fine, Lani. You didn't need to walk me here."

"Have you seen your legs? I wasn't certain your skin would let you move."

"Fine, fine. I'm here. I know you have obligations with the Village Chief. Thank you, oh Island Princess, for seeing me to the door. I'm pretty sure I can take it from here-ouch."

The first voice started to fade away accompanied by the sound of footsteps. "Serves you right," the voice said in a sing-song sort of tone. "You really shouldn't do that smarmy little wink when your face is that red. See you at dinner."

Sunburn. Of course.

Every so often, a vacationer would underestimate the sun in its reflective prowess against the water and get so burned that heat visibly radiated off their person. Cedric was the only one to have found a salve that eased the damage in less than a day which was oh-so-appealing to those with limited time on the island. And so the villagers would send the woeful creatures to him for help. Cedric stood to fetch the salve so he could immediately send the woman away, but her knock came first. He sighed lightly as his bare feet took him to the door, anticipating a longer conversation than he would have wished for.

The sound of glasses falling to the ground just barely preceded the inward swing of the door. Instead of seeing a face, Cedric took in an eyeful of shoulder burned nearly crimson and a long wave of soft, auburn hair.

"Whoops! I'm so sorry - what a first impression. Hi, um, I'm sure you can see I have a terrible sunburn." She straightened, glasses in hand. "The Village Chief said you were the only man to...to see…"

Sapphire blue eyes, eyes more blue than the cloudless sky, eyes more clear than the ocean that was just steps away slowly blinked in shocked recognition.

Her familiar voice stunned him speechless. Lips mouthed his name, then spoke it aloud with a mix of confusion and was that joy? Could this creature of near-comically burned skin and soft curves be the Princess he had left behind?

Cedric's mouth gaped open dumbly as he stared at the only person he had ever genuinely called friend. Then there was another sound filling the doorway. It sounded like little, happy chimes. Laughter. Sofia was laughing with tears welling in the corners of her eyes. Those eyes, _those eyes,_ winced in pain from the crinkling of her skin caused by her laughter as she brought her hands to her lips in disbelief. It shook him from his revelry.

"Come in, you pitiful thing," he said with a sympathetic smile. "Best to hold the questions I'm certain you're overflowing with until your skin has faded from cooked-lobster red." He took her hand and helped her gingerly walk across the threshold, her dangerously thin, white linen dress swishing softly at her knees. Sofia dropped his hand almost immediately and wrapped her arms around his waist just as she had done over eight years ago. Only now, he was acutely aware of the press of her chest against his. No longer a child, but a woman wound her way around him and Cedric, with more hesitance than he would ever admit to, found his hands with no place to rest but the curve of her lower back. Though he surprised himself with a serious consideration of tangling one hand into her hair that curled into soft waves from the salt in the air. She smelled of the ocean and jasmine and something uniquely her.

Sofia had been the only person of his previous life to take the time to know Cedric exactly as he was without any expectations for him to be anything but honest. Or, well, she expected him to be the best version of himself and her endless optimism made him believe that he could be that man she saw. Without realizing it, she had been the one to give him the idea to leave. Bitter, frustrated inner-voices had told Cedric that he owed her no farewell and, after her letter, he believed he wouldn't see her again and would have no opportunity to redeem himself, no opportunity show her the best version of himself that he had grown into. It was the only real regret he had from his departure and lack of intention to ever return.

Cedric had occasional played out a final interaction where the Royal family, vacationing to the island, discovered him here and had a sort of "well gee, I'm certainly glad things worked out for all of us, no matter how we got there" moment that wrapped the scenario in a neat bow. The family continued on to their endeavors and him to his continued allegiance to me-myself-and-I. But Sofia was always the fourteen-year-old girl he had last known in these scenes. Like a flower previously in a bud, invisible to his notice, she had bloomed. He never could have imagined how she would change and, charmingly, how she wouldn't.

They stood there together for longer than was likely appropriate, but that was a thought absent from Cedric's mind. He wasn't that man anymore, caught in up boundaries of propriety. He held her to him with an intensity that matched hers. She murmered into his chest, breaking them out of their revelry.

"W-what was that?" He asked, resistant to end the moment.

Sofia pulled away, a blush somehow radiating through the intensity of her sunburn. Her eyes were shyly downcast. "I said that I missed you." And then she said in a quiet afterthought, "I-I guess I never realized just how much until seeing you again. I had hoped but I never.." She cleared her throat and the spunky outline of the girl he knew reformed with a sly grin. "Well don't you think the least you could do after disappearing is giving me is that salve the villagers were going on about? I'd like to go back to my proper coloring."

Cedric barked a laugh. "I see your audacity certainly hasn't changed." He gestured to a second armchair. "Please gingerly sit, your Highness, and I'll return in a moment." He turned to leave before her voice interrupted him.

"It's 'your Grace'," she corrected through nearly gritted teeth as she willed her damaged skin to allow her to sit.

Cedric quirked an eyebrow. "Is it, now, _Duchess_ Sofia?"

Sofia's face softened with pleasure and Cedric's mind began doing somersaults of possibilities. "Yes," she said, her tone prim but her eyes sparkling, "it is."

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A/N

**re-posted with tiny edits that I had missed! Wheeee!

So it's looking more like 4 chapters. Fingers crossed I can actually keep to my outline!

I tried to get across with the bud/bloom analogy that Cedric didn't think anything untoward girl!Sofia. That's icky. No thank you. Just want to be clear that I only ship this pairing when Sofia is no longer a child.

My best friend in college and I went on a cruise after our last semester of college. On the first day, we, being the pale creatures we are, slathered ourselves in sunscreen and went up to read on the deck for about four hours. Guys. WE FORGOT TO SLATHER OUR LEGS. I was a little burned, but mostly okay. Poor best friend was lobster red and could only really waddle for the rest of the week while wearing my pants (she's more petite than I am) and covering her legs frequently in aloe. NEVER FORGET YOUR LEGS.

Thank you so much for the reviews.

AHogwartsCat - I can never hold my mail, either! I'm glad you appreciate the details.

Guest - I struggled with the letter line! It felt a little cliche but I don't think pre-teen Sofia would shy away from them, especially if they are true.

Kira444 - You absolutely made my day. Thank you so much for the compliment.

And thank you to the review-less viewers! It's so awesome that you took time out of your lives to read something I wrote!


	3. Chapter 3

This was too good to be true.

Yes, Sofia had frustrations with Cedric's (Mister Cedric? No, _definitely_ just Cedric) disappearance from Enchancia but time and a never ending string of obligatory royal distractions had helped her to work through her feelings of anger and then grief until there was nothing left in the spot where she had tended their friendship but a sad vacancy and a new, rather dull, sorceress. But now, seeing him, Sofia could only sing praises for the island that had taken him away. The man walking back towards her, a jar filled with a heavenly white salve in hand, was shining an inner verve she had never seen from him. He was still slim, but now filled and healthy, no longer pale and gaunt and cold. He had always been good looking but not conventionally so, built in a way that made him striking rather than just commonly handsome and it had enriched over the years. A new warmth radiated from him and she wanted him to wrap her within it.

Sofia tried to take an inward, calming breath to steady her pit-pattering heart as Cedric knelt before her seat and unscrewed the top from the jar. A thick scent of coconut permeated the air. Cedric took her leg across his lap with a sense of practiced treatment and spread the salve thickly across her burned skin.

"How did this happen?" he asked, his tone distracted by his task, and Sofia had to forcibly remind herself she was in the here and now, a woman on this island instead of a small girl being treated for a skinned knee in a drafty castle tower. It had been so long without him but that time melted away the instant he had opened his door. Sofia looked straight ahead to the encapsulating view of the ocean, calling on all of her etiquette schooling to keep her face trained to indifference. It did her no good. Her flesh was overtaken by goose-pimples at his touch. She bit her lip, barely believing this was happening so casually.

There was a certain medicinal aspect to Cedric's task, but the way he touched her spoke to a confidence she had never associated with him before. Her schooling utterly failing her, Sofia looked down at him, expecting at least a flush across his cheeks but found nothing that could be described as embarrassment. On the contrary, Cedric had been waiting there for her to look at him while he sported an almost unfamiliar, easy smile and eyes that hinted at dark, delicious things that awakened a longing within her she had nearly forgotten existed.

"Boat," Sofia wheezed out, just then remembering to breathe. "We were out too long and I don't sport Lani's islander skin that seems to be immune to the sun."

"Is she why you've come here - Princess Lani?"

"You know her?"

"Of her. We are in part of the Hakalo region, after all. You were her Ahkahuna, were you not?"

Sofia looked at him, surprise across her face. Cedric faked exasperation.

"Yes, I did _actually_ listen to _all_ of your girlish prattling." A cloth appeared in his hand from nothingness. He pressed it against her slathered knee and slowly ran it down the length of her leg. Sofia's breath caught at the creamy-white skin that now encompassed her previously-burned leg. His magical prowess was as impressive as ever. Cedric edged closer to her other leg, cloth vanished and another glob of slave in his hand. "The Ahkahuna is a significant portion of the culture here. I've been one twice now."

Sofia raised a eyebrow and asked, disbelievingly, "you?" before inwardly cursing herself as Cedric's face fell in just the tiniest fraction.

"Is it so hard to believe, your Grace," Sofia winced at the defensive wall of formality and the pressure of his hands against the burn on her shin, "that I should be trusted and selected as guide to certain trials Kona Laui has to offer?"

"No, I didn't mean - it's just you - well, you left, didn't you? You've never seemed like the type to seek out company and you would have to have company to become trustworthy enough for the Ahkahuna."

Cedric stared up at her for the long moments that it took the salve to work its magic. Sofia couldn't bare the silence.

"I thought you didn't care for people," she filled the space meekly.

Cedric sighed, a new cloth appearing in his hands and he looked only to his task as he spoke. "I wasn't alone because I didn't care for people or enjoyed solitude, per say. There is great appeal to being comfortable in being alone by choice. But I wasn't alone by choice, not really. I tried to be a part of the world and people continued to disappoint me or I continued to disappoint them. Leaving was me giving up on being disappointed. It was me taking control of my life as my own and not in servitude to someone else." He looked up and met her eyes, thoughtfully. "Though, generally you're right; I don't care for _people_ …"

 _But I do care for_ certain _people,_ his eyes quietly finished.

Sofia didn't speak. She couldn't. In less than ten minutes, eight years had faded away and Sofia locked eyes with a renewed Cedric who no longer clung to tower walls for his own protection. He should have been a stranger to her after all this time, but she couldn't help but feel closer to him than she had to anyone in years. He was delightfully transparent and kind and, damn it all, sensational!

"I was engaged," Sofia blurted out as Cedric moved to treat her flaming red arms. His eyes blinked once, taking in her outburst, before he replied in a forcibly casual tone.

"I can't say I'm surprised, considering your intellect, position, and beauty."

"I-well, I was...It was arranged." The bitter taste rising in Sofia's mouth at the topic was all-too familiar by now, distracting her from Cedric's rather mechanical compliments. "I couldn't-I tried but, well, I just couldn't."

"Is that so." The calculating tone in Cedric's voice almost painfully reminded her of his past life.

"I refused to go through with it. And I refused to consider going through it a second time with another man. So I renounced my title. That's why I'm not - well, anyway, Father spent weeks raging in my direction. But I'm not a piece of livestock up for trade! I stand by my choice but even so, I couldn't bear to stay to remind him of what my stubborn idealism had lost Enchancia so I left. Nearly a year ago."

Cedric wiped yet another cloth down her arm, revealing the happier skin beneath. "Stubborn idealism?"

"Love," she replied simply. "I want love."

He offered her a light chuckle, the tight line of his lips loosening again, "from you, imagine that. Come on, now, other arm."

The silence between them was comfortable as Cedric worked and Sofia tried not to wriggle away from him as he made initial contact with her painfully sunburned skin. Even so, Sofia couldn't stand it. They had years to make up for. Silence could wait.

"Do you do this, the application I mean, like this. For...everyone?" Sofia squeezed her eyes shut at the trepidation she couldn't hide from her voice.

"Never," was his immediate reply and Sofia couldn't stop the sigh that passed over her lips. The thought of him touching this much skin on anyone else rose a fierce and fiery monster in her gut that she was content to dismiss with his honesty. "Though it's been a rather pleasant experience. Perhaps I should reconsider my policy." Her eyes flashed to his and found them laughing back at her. She swatted his arm with her healed hand. He cried in mock pain, "such terrible treatment for the man healing you! Perhaps I should leave your face a tomato."

"No! Cedric, please!" She pleaded with him, exaggerating her face to resemble one of a begging puppy which had her eyes stinging with pain from the manipulation of her facial muscles beneath that damaged skin. He laughed at her, the sound pleasantly filling.

"Alright, alright pathetic girl. Stop that, I can see how it hurts you. Now sit back and close your eyes." Cedric arranged himself to perch on the edge of the arm of the chair to better access her face as Sofia leaned her head into the back of the chair, still peering over at him until the first dollop of salve was spread across her cheek. She closed her eyes and fell victim to the sensation of his touch.

Cedric was methodical with the application of the salve, ensuring to cover each painful blotch. But there was something greater to his touch than just the salve application. It felt like he was tracing her face, taking the time to memorize every curve, the beginnings of the tiny wrinkles at the corners of her lips from her frequent smiling, the small indent from the dimple on her left cheek, the line from the side of her nose up through the arch of her eyebrow. Entranced, Sofia barely noticed as she absently laced her fingers between his on his free hand.

The spell began to fade as Cedric gently wiped the salve away and Sofia opened her eyes to find his face hovering inches above hers.

Clinging to her courage, to her instincts, her voice barely louder than the flutter of a hummingbird's wings, she spoke as her breath played over his so-near lips. "Would you kiss me, C-Cedric?" Her nerves tripped her tongue over his name. Cedric had dropped the cloth and his gloveless thumb stroked her cheek with so much tenderness that it made her want to weep.

"Would it mean anything to you? Is this just the final play of a girlish infatuation? Or some happy coincidence to take advantage of when we have stumbled across each other again, safe in something familiar from your past? Just giving in to a well-constructed chance?" His vulnerability made her heart ache. "Is it me or the broken memory of who I was that you wish for, Sofia?"

His voice saying her unadulterated name made her melt as a heat began to coil at the bottom of her belly. " _You_ , Cedric. You as you are. I never thought I would see you again. You would mean everything to me."

She had more words to say, but wasn't given the opportunity speak them aloud as Cedric slid his hand to the back of her neck and pressed his lips to hers.

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A/N

**I was up FAR too late writing this. Went back and made some edits to round out a few things, no major changes. Much happier now.

Cliiiiiiif hanger. I know, I'm the worst. But really just a reading cliff hanger. Plot seems pret-ty clear, I'd say ;D

So it's maybe gonna be five chapters.

Also! I'd like to say that I'm aware this is all moving rather quickly, but I wanted to keep it short (and even with that goal, I went from 3 chapters to 5. Or maybe 4 and an epilogue…). I'm chalking it up to being 22/32 after an 8 year burn for each other. Justify it however you'd like. I'm happy enough with it!

I've been up far too late writing these (though I've done so quite happily). Probably no daily update for chapter 4. Need to take my time with this next one (and get some sleep!)


	4. Chapter 4

Sofia tasted of mint tea and coconut oil and affirmation.

Hearing her asking him to kiss her, so bold in phrase but timid in delivery, awoke a level of insecurity in Cedric that he had not felt in nearly a decade. Of course he hadn't thought of anything but kissing her since she pried her lithe little frame away from his to tell him she had missed him. He mentally congratulated his audacity as he took each of her limbs in hand without a hint of the nervous apprehension coming over him in waves. It was a different kind of nervousness than what he had felt when he last knew her; constantly worried of disappointing her, afraid of falling short of her expectations, distressed that her ability to forgive might vanish exactly when he needed it most. No, this was nervousness that fed into a quickly increasing elation that the fates were finally interested in repayment for twenty-five years of general misery. Cedric had come to think of Kona Laui as that particular prize, but he had clearly been mistaken. Kona Laui was the setting, a paradise to heal him and provide a backdrop for Sofia-the-Woman to sashay into his second favorite chair and make nearly irresistible requests to kiss her.

But no matter how beautiful or willing she was, no matter how much he wanted her sitting in his lap, her arms draped over his shoulders, Cedric was certain that having Sofia for a moment wouldn't be enough. He knew his confidence, no matter how much he had grown in their time apart, would survive poorly from her flighty rejection, even if it could leave him physically sated. The man Sofia had known would have accepted whatever she would ordain to grace him with. The man he was now refused to settle for less than he deserved in any relationship. And so he had asked her what a kiss would mean and her answer was a light in the darkness he didn't realize he still had.

If this was what a _kiss_ would mean…

Before his mind could register the movement of his body, Cedric found himself kissing Sofia to stop more words from spilling over her lips. Her answer was more than satisfactory, any more words would have been a monumental waste of time when he could have been kissing her instead.

The kiss began innocently enough. But their closeness as Cedric hovered over her brought out a daring in Sofia he didn't realize would translate to a moment like this. Her hands snaked through the opening in the unbuttoned top of his shirt and pressed against him. Her fingers clung to his shoulders and her thumbs traced soft circles on his collar bone. Emblazoned by her, he dared to trace his tongue across the seam of her lips and she opened eagerly to him.

Sofia released a breathy little sigh that spurred him further forward. Cedric wrapped his hands around her waist and shifted her so that he could share the chair with her. He pulled her to him, the size of the chair (the best chair, the blessed chair, why he ever dubbed it second best he would never know and never call it second best again) forcing them closer together.

The kiss changed to something softer, something sweeter as the frustratingly human need to breathe caused them part. They pressed their foreheads together, panting lightly with eyes closed. Sofia still clung to him as if he was the only thing grounding her to reality. Cedric, arms still wrapped around her, was more than willing to be that anchor. So much of him had changed since he last saw her that he couldn't bring himself to moon over the moment as if it couldn't be happening. This was real. Cedric was well-indoctrinated in his happiness now. Sofia could perfect it, though not complete it.

"I should have written back."

"I should have sought you out. I shouldn't have let you slip away."

"I'm glad you didn't. I needed this time."

"You look good, Cedric. So good. Happy, healthy."

Cedric smiled. He didn't feel an instinct to refute her compliment and self-deprecate. It was refreshing. This could be good. This could be right. One of her hands traced up his neck over the stubble on his face.

"I like this," she said idly as she traced the line of his jaw. "It's softer than I thought it would be."

Cedric let the weight of his head fall into Sofia's hand as she cupped his face. "Good," he murmured, "because I'm not getting rid of it. Not even for you." He opened his eyes to find her eyebrow arched in such perfect imitation of his that he found his mind wandering to what else of his she might take on. He dallied into a daydream of her stealing his shirt to wear without any additional stitch of cloth when light kisses fell down his neck to bring him back into the glorious present with his own groan of pleasure. Despite not thinking on Sofia for years, he was flooded with a rush of want. He wanted lazy afternoons with her legs entwined with his and company on his apothecary stocking excursions across the island. They had their beginning started years ago; he wanted a middle and a complete lack of ending. Her tongue slipped back into his mouth, intoxicating him with the taste of her and he could not help but let his hands be travelers across her newly-healed skin.

Cedric's hand shyly quested up the outside of her knee, needing more of her to touch. Sofia pushed softly against his elbow, encouraging his hand up and up and up. When he reached her hip unencumbered, Sofia broke her lips from his with a surprised, "Oh!" Cedric moved his head back so he could taking in her entire face as his fingers made lazy circles across her hip.

"Are you wearing anything at all under this square inch of fabric you're calling a dress?" Cedric's chest rose and fell in rhythm with hers, both of them passionately out of breath. Sofia blushed. She still blushed in spite of their shared intimacy. It was beyond endearing.

"The dress was the only thing I could get on with the sunburn as bad as it was." Her tone was matter-of-fact but her eyes dripped sin. Cedric slipped his hand from under her skirt and slowly traced a finger over the top of her dress from her navel, lingering over the tightened bud of her breast.

"The...only thing?" His voice was thick with intrigue.

Sofia's lips spread into a sly smile. She took his hand and led him to cup her breast. His thumb and forefinger, placed so perfectly, immediately began to roll the hardened nipple between them. She gasped, then moaned in assent before before pulling him into a kiss filled with permissions to touch her everywhere. Her hands were busy again as buttons came loose and Cedric felt his shirt pulled away. Those hands ran over his skin, lingering as if she was taking the time to memorize the feel of his chest and stomach, both not particularly muscular but pleasantly lean from island living. Her hands roamed lower and lower until they latched onto his belt.

"Eager, are you?" he said with a laugh between breaths. He felt her lips smile more then he saw them.

"I feel like I have to catch you before you disappear again."

"If you are anything like the girl I remember, I very much doubt I'll be leaving your sights again." In a smooth motion, he was to his feet, pulling Sofia to him in a tight embrace. He immediately gave in to the impulse to bury his nose into her hair, one hand tangling into the sun-drenched auburn locks at the back of her neck, the other wrapped around her waist. "I find myself not wanting to."

That was enough, it seemed, to awaken Sofia's signature gumption. A stranger in his home, though not his heart, his soul, she bumped and crashed him into walls and and furniture on their way to the bedroom as she kissed him, dislodging and entire bookshelf of its contents. It didn't matter. Little mattered in the world right now outside of Sofia and how her hand slipped into his like it belonged there when she finally grew tired of collecting bruises and marched him into the bedroom.

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A/N

This keeps getting longer. I'm not fighting it anymore. I might even go back later and change chapter two for more showing instead of telling. The muse is playing nicely.  
I began to earn the M rating this chapter. I'm definitely earning it in the next one.

I neglected to shout out in the last chapter. THANK YOU so much to everyone who has reviewed. It really is so much easier to write when you know you aren't writing to an empty room. I did want to mention that I definitely accept and appreciate constructive criticism, but the endless compliments aren't bad either ;)

But sans reviews, I've never had so many _views_ \- which, I know, updating more than once a month sure does help and I've only got one other story to compare the experience to, but it still feels pretty amazing. Thank you thank you thank you!

Guest - I think there are two of you, but maybe three, based off of what I'm reading on the comments. To one of you: thank you for pointing out exactly what you like. I love knowing what moments catch your attention enough to post about them. To the other of you: There will be more questions. There might not be a lot of verbal answers ;). To the potentially third of you: I, too, refresh the incomplete stories I'm reading CONSTANTLY for updates, especially after FF went down earlier this month. I missed many an update, it was very distressing.

Jessibelle - It is a immense pleasure for me to write something you enjoy reading after your own writing has given me so many hours of entertainment. Thank you for your positivity and support! (and if you're reading this and haven't read any of her works, please click over to her immediately. Lover Mine is my favorite).

AHogwartsCat - I think one of the biggest traps of writing fan fiction in fandoms like this is forgetting to age everyone (or anyone). It's easier said than done and I'm striving to do it! Beware the ocean. I, too, have the Victorian coloring and the sun is not our friend. I'm so glad to have provided some entertainment and I hope you enjoy your trip! I'll be beachy at the end of June with about 1000 pounds of SPF in tow.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:

Author's note at the top for this chapter to ensure that, in case you missed the warning in chapter 4, you're aware this is a sex sex sexy chapter. Skip this one if that offends you to read.

Thank you again, so much, for all the views, follows, favorites, and reviews. They are all so precious to me (and have seriously motivated me to finish this story as fast as I can)!

First time for everything, right? Including publishing smexy scenes? Fingers crossed that you enjoy it. *sets the scene down and then runs far, far away*

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"How many buttons does this accursed dress have?!" Cedric growled in Sofia's ear as his hands fumbled with the row of buttons down the back of her dress. Getting to the bed was a blur but she was deliciously aware of being there now, on her knees with Cedric, also on his knees, pressed against her backside. She would have giggled if she didn't feel the same sense of urgency that was spilling through his voice. He reached a long arm into the air and a wand appeared in his hand. He ran the tip of it down the length of her back and Sofia heard a long string of pops as each button was ripped free from its loop. The dress peeled open, revealing the entire expanse of Sofia's back. Without the structure of the buttons to hold it in place, the dress slipped off to pool around her knees. She turned her head to peer at Cedric over her shoulder.

"You've ruined it, you know," she said with a coy smile. Cedric stared, mouth gaping slightly open.

"I'll fix it later…" he distantly replied. His eyes faded from disbelief into something greedier as Sofia slowly turned her body to face him, to show him all of the woman she was. Words didn't fall from his lips, but instead from his eyes; words like beautiful and stunning and exquisite as he drank in the curve of her breast, the narrowing at her waist and the softness of her belly. For the first time since she had walked through his door, there was some immeasurable distance between them as Cedric took in the sight of her almost reverently.

Well, he wasn't the only one who deserved to worship.

Sofia inched forward until she had Cedric's belt buckle in her grasp again. She had the belt free and open, her hands slipping just under the waistband before he seemed to shake out of his hushed admiration. He gave her a roguish grin that made her almost made her heart stop. He pulled himself from her busy hands to stand beside the bed, allowing his pants fall from his narrow hips to the ground, and stepping out of them. It was Sofia's turn to stare. Her eyes lapping in the sight of him, she could hardly believe that she wasn't in the midst of a fantastical daydream. Tall and certainly no longer lanky, his was a body she couldn't help but want to run her hands over in endless exploration. He smelled of salt air and caffe and the tang of sweat from their activity in the heat of the day that had given him an attractive sheen across his skin. His naked form roused a hungry smile in Sofia that she hadn't known herself to be capable of. She wanted her mouth to follow the tantalizing trail of coarse black hair down from his stomach to his distractingly stiff cock. She wanted to touch every inch of his skin with her fingers and then her tongue. She wanted to make Cedric moan with pleasure at her ministrations. She wanted...she _wanted_.

Something, likely impatience, broke the spell of stillness. Sofia found herself tackled backward onto the bed with a giddy laugh. Cedric's body was a comfortable weight upon hers as their lips found each other again. He kissed her with renewed vigor, as if he was trying to compensate for time wasted staring instead of being tangled in each other's arms. If this is how good it could be, and they had barely begun, Sofia distinctly felt they had wasted _years_ to catch up on.

Cedric's hands were warm as they clung to her waist, her thighs, her backside. There was a needy, breathy moan of his name and it took Sofia long moments to realize it had issued from her as Cedric's kisses started to trail down the curve of her neck. He was there, praying at the altar of her breasts. He licked and sucked and teased her nipple and then, being the good and terrible man he was, offered supplication at the second altar. Sofia ran her fingers through his hair, shorter than it had been but long enough to cling on to, holding him to her and delighting at finally touching the mismatched strands of color.

Cedric eased his leg between hers, asking her thighs to open. Her legs parted eagerly at his request, baring her centre to him and he groaned huskily as her heat welcomed him to her, drawing him in. She sighed as his hands began to wander again. Bodies still pressed together, Cedric buried his face into her neck as his fingers danced their way through her dark curls. He touched her, timidly at first. Sofia gasped, then cried out as he began to explore her folds. He took his time learning how to unravel her, his long, clever fingers teasing her at her opening before questing back over her sensitive nub in sanguine circles. He slipped a finger into her core, and then moments later, a second finger joined the first while his thumb continued to work her into a frenzy. She worried her head back and forth against the bed, eyes shut tight to focus on this e magic in Cedric's hands as she shamelessly released wanton cries, guiding him with her moans and mewls. As his fingers slid in and out of her, quickening their pace, Sofia's hips thrust upward instinctively, searching for something more than his hands could give her.

When he nearly had her undone, Cedric eased his hand away. Her eyes opening, Sofia was torn between crying at the loss of his touch and demanding that he finish what he started. He rocked back on his knees to sit back from her and she opened her mouth to protest when Cedric rendered her speechless. He took his two fingers, glistening with her essence, and slipped them into his mouth, licking them clean. He closed his eyes, humming appreciatively as he savored the flavor that was inescapably _her_ and Sofia could only stare. Seeing him taste her like that, seeing him enjoy it, nearly had her puddled at his feet. She unconsciously rubbed her thighs together, needing more of him, needing the taste of her core on his tongue. With renewed urgency, she reached up and grabbed Cedric around the neck, pulling him to her, diving her tongue into his mouth to know exactly what had him so satisfied. It was salt and tang and sweet and sex and desire.

"Please…" she begged between breaths, between lips crashing against each other.

"Do you need me, Sofia?" he whispered, as if he almost couldn't believe she was there beneath him.

"I do, I do," she chanted. "I need you, Cedric. _Please!_ "

Sofia felt his thumb circle her nub, coaxing her, teasing her again. It wasn't enough. She needed _more_. She reached down and took him in hand, gently but urgently pulling him to her centre. She swirled the head of his cock around her, drenching it in the honey they had both tasted. Her hips urged him forward but he hovered at her entrance, controlled.

"Cedric! More, oh - Cedric, please just -" Her eyes pleaded up into his.

"What do you want, love?" The endearment escaped and hung in the air, urging her consent. Sofia wrapped her legs around his waist and she tried to pull him into her. He didn't budge.

"Cedric - that! _You_. Please - please _love_ me!"

She might have died the seconds later, Sofia couldn't be certain. The sensations that exploded as Cedric slid into her caught her breath with a sharp inhale. She felt her body clench around him, begging him never to leave. It was like stepping into a hot bath; scaldingly hot but then delightfully warm as you grow accustomed to the sensation. Cedric's forehead was pressed into hers. He gasped as he slowly slid backwards and Sofia whimpered at the loss of him. But he didn't give her a chance to mourn before he filled her again, moaning in bliss. Sofia's arms fumbled for something to grip, eventually clinging to his shoulders as they found a rhythm together. She shut her eyes, losing herself to their pulsing pattern. She felt his lips collide against hers in a kiss that lacked all of the fineness from minutes prior. It was sloppy, but it was passionate.

Cedric's long, even strokes into her core became as vital to Sofia as water to a man lost in the desert. Time lost meaning as she wrapped her body around him, aching for more and more. Cedric held himself above her with one arm and, with some effort of concentration, pressed his other hand down on the nub hidden in her folds until he was touching her with sure, rolling strokes. Sofia's eyes shot open and she sighed to find the intensity of Cedric's eyes locked into hers. An unquestioning, piercing, powerful gaze filling her with promises of uninterrupted pleasure. Sofia whimpered, incapable of speech from his unrelenting rhythm and captivating, potent eyes.

They chorused to each other with insensible, hungry sounds of need. Sofia pulled him closer to find his lips again and drew a wet line with her tongue from the corner of his mouth to the sensitive spot where ear met neck. Cedric's tenor voice gave as surprisingly low rumble of her name and he pulled her closer to him. His pace increased and he unrelentingly pounded into her as she dug her nails into the backs of his shoulders. She cried mindless agreements until stars began to dance in her eyes. The force of her orgasm rolled through her entire body, the coil of heat in her belly finally releasing as her head and hands fell back against the bed. She was vaguely aware of Cedric gripping her hand in his as his muscles tensed, losing himself inside of her with a fierce roar of satisfaction that pittered into contented sighs and soft kisses to her shoulder.

They laid there, panting, lost in the pleasure of each other.

Eventually, Cedric rolled off of her and onto his back, pulling her up to rest against him. Sofia's head was a light weight against his chest as she listened to his heartbeat soften. His arm was wrapped around her, keeping her at his side with their legs still tangled together. She felt pleasantly small in his arms with his body around hers so securely. The sky must have broken into an afternoon storm as the sound of raindrops on the roof, along with the rolling call of the ocean, provided a soft tune to lull them both into a comfortable and sated sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

His room was too warm.

Cedric reached over and blindly searched his bedside table for his spare wand. The blanket at his side shifted against him but that seemed like a normal thing for blankets to do. With bleary eyes, he flicked the recovered wand lazily at the window which opened outward. Afternoon sun trickled in along with the ever-constant ocean breeze. Content, he sighed, the blanket sighed, and Cedric settled back into bed as the wind caressed his skin.

Wait.

Not a blanket.

Not a blanket!

Cedric sat up abruptly and Sofia's head slid off his chest and onto the bed. He clutched at his chest and then looked down at the beauty beside him as she slowly blinked her way back into the present. She looked up at him, her hair a tangled mess spread across his bed sheets.

"Is-is something wrong?" The insecurity of her voice nearly killed him.

"No!" he said quickly and gathered her up in his arms to keep her from thinking something so, so very incorrect. "You've just - you...startled me, is all. I've only ever slept alone. I didn't expect you as I've never expected anyone."

He could feel tense muscles relax in her petite frame and he held her close to him. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck like it was home. Cedric leaned against the headboard of the bed and traced his fingers lightly over Sofia's spine. She giggled and squirmed in his arms.

"You have to touch with more intention or it just tickles," she advised. Cedric dutifully applied more pressure through his fingertips and Sofia hummed in satisfaction.

This moment was as near to perfection as Cedric thought he might ever find. He was in his island paradise, comfortably naked and thoroughly tousled with his only friend from his past life folded in his arms. Now grown, now seeing her in the light of her womanhood and matured femininity, Cedric thought that Sofia was someone he could easily love. The passion of their love-making obscured some of the details, but he hadn't forgotten the endearment that tumbled over his lips and her begging him to love her. Not fuck or screw but _love_ her. And so he had. And so he would for as long as they would have each other.

Merlin's fucking mushrooms, he was so in love with her that it was a work of magic that he hadn't known it the second she walked inside his home. Did it really happen this quickly? He'd never been in love before; he had no basis for comparison. .

"I have questions," Sofia's voice broke him out of his revelry.

"I know you do, love." Cedric paused over the word and was certain hey felt her lips spread into a smile. "I do, too. So we may as well begin. Ask."

"You first."

"Mine aren't very...delicate."

"I don't care. You should know anything you want to if - well, that is to say, I would want you to know if we -"

"Court?"

"I was going to say 'keep having sex."

Cedric barked a laugh. "So direct! You must have escaped the aristocracy just in time." Sofia laughed with him and he held her closer. As their laughter naturally ebbed away, his voice took on a tone of sincerity. "But I want more than that, just having sex, Sofia. I want more of you than that." His unspoken words ( _I'm not interested in just sex)_ hung in the air

"I do, too," she seemed to struggle to whisper with a lilt lighting her words that made Cedric hold her closer still. "Well, go on then," she said with resolve, "ask away."

"Well, this didn't seem an entirely...foreign...experience for you." Cedric complimented himself inwardly on how casual he had made the statement sound. Sofia was either the most unfathomably relaxed virgin he had met or she had a more sordid past than he would have thought to associate with her (which egged on a sort of jealousy Cedric hadn't felt in years). There was a long moment of silence as she seemed to decide on exactly what words she would say. When she spoke, Sofia's voice was unashamed but quiet.

"I really did try _everything_ to make my engagement work."

Cedric untangled himself from her just enough so that he could look into her eyes. He tenderly stroked her cheek, his eyes almost drowning in concern. "Was it…?"

"It was consensual," she said, her tone unnaturally clipped. "But it obviously didn't work. And at that point I was 'sullied,'" she scrunched her nose in a sneer for the word, "and couldn't tell my father about it so what respectable choice did I have, really, except for renouncing my title? If it had worked, if there had been some _spark,_ I'm afraid I might have gone through with it - the marriage. But there was nothing. It was nothing - nothing like this, nothing like you, like us, like -"

Cedric cut her off for the second time that day with a kiss, although this one was much more chaste than the last.

"I'm sorry that you were hurt," he said, his lips a breath away from hers. "I'm sorry that you suffered. But I'm not sorry that it happened. It led you to me. And you never have to mention it again if you don't want to, love."

Emotions competed for dominance on Sofia's face as she made a soft, swooning "Oh…" before Cedric kissed her again. He kissed her again after that and then again after that until he could feel the smile across her lips. He gathered her into his lap so that they could look at each other and still be close while they spoke.

"Your turn. But I do believe I remember your previous company mentioning dinner plans so try and keep your questions succinct, for now."

Wide, confused eyes blinked back up at him. "That's it? You don't want to know anything else?"

Cedric reached out to push a stray strand of hair behind Sofia's ear, unable to resist another chance to touch her. "I want to know the details of every day since I left if you want to tell them to me, but I don't need you to tell them to me now. There'll be plenty of time for that. I chose the question I did so I could make sure that you were...comfortable with what happened. Between us."

Sofia gave him a shy smile and wiggled against him in his lap. " _Very_ comfortable, Cedric."

Cedric grabbed her hips and held her still. "Ah-ah - later, minx," he said with a wolfish grin before indulging her with a languid kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair, holding his head close to hers. He delighted in the shivers it sent down his spine. They parted with a sigh and Sofia relaxed into him, pressing her right cheek against his.

"You're happy here," she said wistfully into his ear.

"...yes?" He was unsettled. Sofia seemed suddenly distant.

"You're happy _here_."

"Meaning?"

Sofia didn't respond. Without seeing her face Cedric couldn't tell what she was feeling, what she was thinking. He shifted so they were looking at each other.

"I'm happy here, Sofia. I have no intentions to mar that happiness with a return trip to Enchancia."

Sofia held his eyes, her expression unreadable.

"Sofia...where does your family think you are?"

Adventuring" she said ambiguously. Cedric raised an eyebrow, requiring a better answer. "I write home enough."

"And they wouldn't take any issue with all of this? You here, with me?"

She averted her eyes. "...it doesn't really matter to me what they think."

"I'm not going to get between you and your family, your Grace." He couldn't help it; an echo of his past sounded, invading with the formality of his voice.

"No. Absolutely not. Don't do that. Don't hide behind social graces. You know my name. Use it."

"Your Gra-"

" _Sofia!_ " Her indignation had her up to her feet.

"...Sofia," Cedric relented. His words were measured. "If this is going to work -"

"-you'll have to treat me like a person, not a princess." She was pacing his room, gesticulating wildly. Naked. "What they think doesn't matter. What did you say earlier? That you left because you were giving up on being disappointed and being a disappointment? Well I feel like I've done the same thing. I left because I never fit their mold. I never will, no matter how hard I try. My mother was a cobbler who became a queen and I got dragged along in the process. It's never something that I wanted - the rules, the requirements, the lack of choices. Well I'm making my own choices now and I'm choosing you. I choose you, Cedric. I. Choose. You."

She was a sight he wanted to memorize. Fire had ignited in her eyes that spread out in a light pink flush across her cheeks and chest. Her hair was disheveled in long, unruly tangles and flowed around her like it was a creature all its own. Her body was tense and taut and passion personified and it was all Cedric could do not to immediately take her back to bed.

Cedric moved to sit on the edge of his bed, all limbs and collected patience. He looked up at her, though even with her standing and him sitting, Sofia's head was barely higher than his. He took his time before speaking, making sure to choose the right words.

"I have nothing to offer you."

"That's not true," she stubbornly replied.

"Nothing but life here, on Kona Laui, and occasionally money when tourists buy my concoctions. I could only really give you my time." Cedric wasn't ashamed in this declaration. He had a very comfortable life here, rich in ways outside of money that kept him very happy.

"...and your love?"

Cedric reached across the distance that separated them and took her hands in his. "That, Sofia, is something I believe you already have."

Sofia's smile could outshine the island sun. "That's all I want."

"And in exchange?" Cedric's heart crept into his throat.

Her smiled dulled by just the tiniest wattage. "It isn't clear? My love! I love you! ...Is-is that enough?"

And before she could express any doubts as to whether she, and she alone, would ever not be enough for him, Cedric pulled her into his arms and silenced her with a kiss for the third time; a kiss filled with promises for a life of simple joys and passions that the two of them could always share.

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A/N

And a very cheesey happily ever after to you, too.

I'm toying with the idea of an epilogue with extra cheese. We shall see.

Couple of plot bunnies bouncing around in my head that I might chase (like this one). Otherwise, be on the lookout for revisions to Give Me Your Riches, followed by a new chapter!


	7. Chapter 7: Epilogue

Their fights weren't infrequent. Sofia found Cedric to be unnervingly calm, approaching every disagreement with frustrating logic. Sometimes he let himself get lost in the fight, instead just drinking in the sight of her. She could be as tumultuous as the ocean in a storm when the waves grew high enough to lick the bottom of the path that led to Cedric's house. Their home, now. The arguments never lasted long. They had spent too long apart to waste time dwelling in squabbles.

She folded into the culture on the island effortlessly. The goodwives liked her better than they liked him. He feigned jealousy but was truly glad that she fit so well. She stopped wearing shoes, just like them, and learned to cook in their kitchens crowded with laughter.

Ankle-deep in the ocean at dawn, they were married by the village medicine man chanting words neither of them understood the exact translation of, but the meaning was clear. She wore the dress he had first seen her in weeks ago. She giggled as he gave up doing the buttons up by hand that morning and drew his wand to complete the task instead. The symmetry made him smile behind her back.

That afternoon, he came home to find Sofia sharing tea with his mother through the portrait. She admonished him, not sharing the news of Sofia's presence in his life until she happened in to find Sofia reading in an armchair instead of her son. If she hadn't been a figment of the portrait, he felt certain she would have smacked him twice across the arm after he shared with her that they had been married. That day. She immediately started discussing babies and baby names before Cedric could shoo her away. After his mother left, he tried to apologize to his wife. Sofia didn't blush, but dragged him by the hand into the bedroom with a shy smile.

Five months later found Sofia up, pacing, weeping in the middle of the night while absently rubbing the swell of her belly. Cedric sat her down, stroked her hair, and cooed soft words to her until she could calm down enough to tell him what was wrong. She had only just written to her parents to tell them where she was and that she was married to Cedric. He uncurled her fingers from the letter, opened and returned without a response, and let it fall to the floor. He pressed her head to his chest and rocked her slowly back and forth until she fell asleep.

He left and returned before she woke up the next morning, wringing his hands until he consciously schooled them to his side. He made her breakfast, read to her belly, and rubbed her feet at the end of the day. They fell back into their routine. Sofia seemed a little distant, but, ever the optimist, leaned deeply into all of the silver linings she could find.

Seven agonizing days passed with no changes before the Enchancia Royal Schooner docked on Kona Laui. Sofia dropped the bag of ingredient clippings and stared, mouth agape. Tears immediately began collecting in the corners of her eyes as she saw her mother speaking to her father on the deck of the ship. Cedric took her hand in his. He told her that he wrote them a letter a week ago. He told her he had been...forward. She looked at him skeptically. He replaced "forward" with "brash and direct." His palm was sweating as they walked together across the boardwalk. He put all of his energy toward keeping his face collected and confident. He was...intimidated to meet his wife's father in this second incarnation of his life...the man Cedric had grown up resenting, the man who had been one of the driving forces behind Cedric's departure from Enchancia. If Cedric had a choice, he would have never seen the man again. Well. He did have a choice. But he chose for Sofia, not for himself.

The wind whipped Sofia's long, thin dress around her, hiding and accentuating her pregnant belly in turns. Her mother reached her first, delicately touching Sofia's face, then her stomach, then engulfing her into her arms. They wept into each others shoulders, smiling and laughing in relieved stress. The King stood back from the two. Her mother released her and Sofia took a timid step toward her father. They stared at each other quietly. Sofia's lip quivered and she didn't get an opportunity to take another step towards him as her father's gait ate up the space between them and he held his daughter to him.

They stayed for a week and left with promises to come back for the birth of their first grandchild. The King actually shook Cedric's hand before they departed. Sofia never asked Cedric to go back to Enchancia, even with the reconciliation in hand, and just for that he was willing to accept her now near-constant joy that so frequently spoiled his self-imposed brooding afternoons. Making her happy was addicting. He sent out more letters. There were more surprise visitors. Sofia's delight at her constant company was only matched in the way her eyes sought his each time, filled with thanks as he had found how much she needed to be surrounded by the people she loved.

Despite that need to be a social butterfly flitting from friend to friend, from adventure to adventure, she put him first above others. And for Cedric, that was more than enough. He loved being the one to most often make her smile. She loved to make him laugh, which he had so rarely done before. They loved to walk in the early mornings and read and brew potions together.

They loved.

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A/N

And THERE'S the resolve I was looking for!

I evaded pronouns for this. No clue why. Huzzah for variety of style, I guess!

Officially The End :)

Thank you so much again to all of the reviewers and readers, favorites and follows. Hearing from you is such a joy and makes writing in a 'published' setting instead of just my google drive feel so worthwhile.


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